I must admit I was really surprised to see a Blackarachnia figure in the War For Cybertron series. So far, the Siege and Earthrise releases seemed focused on really classic (essentially 1980's) characters. And honestly I was excited to see who we would get in the final part of the trilogy. But in a surprise twist, the theme jumped forward to 1996's Beast Wars franchise for final Kingdom series. I unfortunately am very unfamiliar with all the Beast Wars shows and my only connection comes from my knowledge of the toys as an adult collector. That said, Blackarachnia has a special place in my heart for being the first notable female Decepticon. I have an affinity for vampy female villains and the easiest way to do that is to is to borrow themes from bats or spiders. The original Beast Wars Blackarchnia toy was a boxy retool of a male character (Tarantulas). The first decent figure was 2015's Legends release, but it was a little odd as a retooled Transformers: Animated mold. This Kingdom figure finally scratches the itch.
Blackarachnia's body is very nicely articulated with essentially the same engineering as other War For Cybertron releases. My only gripe is that her ankle articulation is limited and she is unable to point her toes. Her Beast Machines design was always on tippy-toes so it's how I view the character overall.
My Blackarachnia came with a holographic Dinobot card.
I guess I expected her own card to be included, but what do I know?
As always, I am quite horrible at transforming figures. This is pic is the best I could get. I couldn't get her hips to splay in a way that will let her legs tuck underneath nicely. Also her breastplate is apparently supposed to pop up and pivot under her abdomen, but I couldn't get mine to budge.
Here's a solicit pic of what she should actually look like.
Blackarachnia's spider legs are each articulated with a ball-joint at the "knee". The piece that connects her bicep to those "knees" is a solid unit that can rotate at the bicep cuff. I actually appreciate this level of articulation, because eight independently articulated legs would look messy. Whenever spider legs aren't evenly spaced or asymmetrical, I think it looks like a dead spider curled up in the corner. So I personally think this is an ideal level or articulation.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here are my Beast Wars Blackarachnias: Legends, Kingdom, and 3rd Party Black Widow.
Cheers!
I like your Alt-mode version. She looks like a Hasselt's Spiny Spider.
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